The Best Footballing Dog Tricks

We’ve all heard the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Pelé and Sir Bobby Charlton – who are considered some of the greatest players in footballing history, but what if you’ve got some hidden talent in the form of your own pampered pet pooch?

With an estimated 8.5 million, 30 million and 42.5 million owned in the United Kingdom, United States and Brazil, it’s clear we’re a serious bunch of dog lovers; meaning you could have the next four-legged football star right under your nose.

Thanks to wonderful world of the internet, many of that undiscovered canine talent has been unearthed and shared for our eyes to see. From keepie uppies to headers and even saving goals, it seems there’s no limits to the intelligence of our delightful doggies. Who knows, perhaps we could have a dog team in time for Euro 2016?

Check out some of the most amazing hounds that have mastered ball play beyond a mere dribble.

Purin the Super Beagle

All the way from Japan, Purin the Super Beagle is certainly a contender to knock Iker Casillas off his goalkeeping throne. Sporting a fabulous football shirt, Purin impressively manages to save all the shots her owner takes at the goal, she even catches some of the balls in per paws. Recently, Purin also broke the Guinness World Record for the most balls caught by a dog’s paws in one minute – reaching a whopping total of fourteen! She’s got her own Facebook page too with over 9,000 likes.

Irie and Julio

Brazilian duo Julio Precioso and his dog Irie have taken Sydney’s Bondi Beach by a storm with their epic paired passing skills. Irie – a Staffordshire Terrier/Australian Kelpie cross was rescued seven years ago as a puppy by Julio from a dog pound where she was facing certain death. Her talent of hitting the ball back without it falling on the floor has earned her over a million views on the original footage and a hoard fans along the beach. Apparently they can last for up to five minutes without dropping the ball.

Man vs Dog

Street performer Séan Garnier is notoriously known for his freestyle football abilities, but even he was blown away by four-legged Chien’s energetic and highly competitive skills. Whist performing in London, Séan and Chien seemed to engage in a football-off; depicting man against his best friend. Much to his surprise, Chein the dog actually managed to retrieve the ball from Séan several times. It was certainly a crowd pleaser, for the video has managed to receive a phenomenal eleven million views.

Alfie ‘Ronaldog’

On me ‘ead son. Nicknamed ‘Ronaldog’, Alfie, who was recently rehomed by Dogs Trust with the Simpkins family from Cheltenham could easily play for many positions in a team. His repertoire ranges from the basic dribble to the more advanced keepie uppies and headers; with his owner Pete Simpkins stating: “He’s incredible, especially as we’ve never trained him. It’s all natural skill”. Learn more about the one and only Ronaldog here.

Sweet Irony…

Typically well-trained and behaved, police dogs are never seen with their eye off the ball. Well, this one takes that a step too far… Deciding he could do a better job than any players on pitch, this public service pooch took to stealing the ball mid-game; perhaps as a protest against the lack of dog footballing leagues. Although the ball was eventually retrieved from him, it’s still remarkable he managed to acquire the ball from under the feet of a footballing expert. This utterly hilarious clip has been viewed over one million times.

Scotch the Border & Friends

With his own Youtube channel and Instagram page, Scotch the Border Collie has become an absolute pro at playing Althinha (or bounce) alongside his owner owner Felipe Eckhardt and his many friends; during which he is able to reach incredible heights whilst head-butting and kicking the ball back and forth. Originally uploaded to Facebook, this clever guy has been viewed over 900,000 times. He even got to play with professional Brazilian football player Gabriel “Gabigol” Barbosa (see here).

Golden Oldie

If you assumed dogs had only started playing football in recent years, then you couldn’t be further from the truth. Originally recorded in the 1940s, this clip (from 1:13) shows an actual canine football game; complete with goals and football shirts, I wonder what the final score was. Unfortunately there was probably a few red cards given, judging by the end of the clip…

So, who is your favourite? Who do you think has a chance at the big leagues? Or, perhaps you have a waggy companion yourself that could give these a run for their money.